{Disclaimer: these are my rough teaching notes I use in my Mishkan Katan weekly broadcasts. There will be "typos". Proceed at your own risk, lol.You can find all my Mishkan Katan video teachings on my YouTube channel: genahood2818 . Look on the playlist called Messianic LAMB TV Network.}
Boker tov! Welcome to July! We are now into the second half of the year, based on the Western calendar. It is a solar calendar, which is very different from the lunar, biblical calendar. At any rate, after the June equinox, the days begin to “get shorter”, have less daylight hours. That is not my favorite, but it’s the way the universe is designed. I love the long days, those days that have many hours of daylight. Allright, enough of my calendar gripes and ruminations. We are continuing on in psalm 119 this morning.
The next section of verses, which begins with verse 57 and runs through 64, is under the heading of chayt, which looks like a large doorway or staple. According to the Talmud, and here you need your little chart of the 22 Hebrew letters and what each of them means, according to the oral law … According to the Talmud, the letter chayt represents grace and charm. Chayt is the first letter in the Hebrew word “Kayn”, which means “grace” or “yes”.
Verse 57 here refers to Hashem as David’s “portion”. This verse is reminiscent of Psalm 16:5-6, where David refers to Hashem in the same way. Those verses say, “Hashem is my allotted portion and my share; You guided my destiny. Portions have fallen to me in pleasant places, indeed, my estate was lovely to me.” The sages go on to point out that we, as God’s creations, bear a portion of the divine within us, and so therefore it behooves us to live keenly aware of our responsibility of bearing His image.
In verses 58 through 61, David is proclaiming how he sought God’s favor by intentionally keeping God’s commandments and testimonies. The sages talk about how people will make excuses for fulfilling a commandment at a later date/time, when if truly obedient they should perform the mitzvah without delay. For example, let’s say a man’s prayer shawl, his tallit, was somehow defaced or destroyed. Perhaps an animal got hold of it and tore it to pieces. The thing to do would be to get a new tallit right away. But, a man might rationalize that the selection of the prayer shawls is not good, that none available are pretty enough or ornate enough or whatever. Verse 60 says David hurried to keep God’s commandments. He did not make excuses for why he should wait to do so later. He did not delay to keep God’s commandments.
In verse 61, the implication is that evil people may gain access to one’s material possessions, but they cannot access one’s spiritual wealth. According to Sforno, the sage, this verse, verse 61, refers to the mutiny of Absolom and Achitophel, his chief advisor. Together, they incited the people to rebel against David. How did they plunder David? Achitophel gave Absolom bad counsel. He told him to capture the city of Jerusalem and afterwards to invade the palace and sleep with David’s wives and concubines. Can you just hear David praying this section of verses from Psalm 119 as he was on the run from his own son, Absolom?
As also recorded in Psalm 57, we see here in verse 62 a reference to David’s sleep patterns. He would routinely get up in the wee hours of the morning to study Torah. He must not have needed a lot of sleep to function effectively during the day. Another interpretation is that the term “midnight” is a metaphor for gloom, despair and sorrow. Looking at it that way, David would be saying that even in the darkest of times he would thank God because all His (God’s) ways are righteous.
In other verses, David often spoke about his disdain for evil-doers. Here, in verse 63, he speaks of his friendship with those who fear Hashem and keep His precepts.
In Psalm 89:3, David recorded that the world is built by kindness. Here, in verse 63, David proclaimed that Hashem’s kindness fills the earth. In other words, the ongoing existence of the world is perpetuated by God, because of His kindness. And, it is through this divine kindness that the seeker is taught God’s ways and statutes.
Let’s read this section together now, as we have not done that yet.
×— (Het)
57 Adonai, I say that my task
is to observe your words.
58 I beg your favor with my whole heart;
show pity to me, in keeping with your promise.
59 I thought about my ways
and turned my feet toward your instruction.
60 I hurry, I don’t delay,
to observe your mitzvot.
61 Even when the cords of the wicked close around me,
I don’t forget your Torah.
62 At midnight I rise to give you thanks
because of your righteous rulings.
63 I am a friend of all who fear you,
of those who observe your precepts.
64 The earth, Adonai, is full of your grace;
teach me your laws.
The next section, verses 65 through 72, is designated by the Hebrew letter, tayt. {Draw one.}. A tayt looks like a square box, with the top broken in so that the right hand side of the top is partially missing and the rest is tilted downward. Tayt is the first letter in the word “tov”, which means “good”. The very first time this letter appears in the Torah, is in the word “tov”, in Genesis 1:4. Therefore, the tayt is associated with the trait of goodness. Tayt makes a “t” sound, as also does the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, tav. The word, Torah, begins with a tav, though, not a tayt.
The very first verse in this section contains the word “good”. Rabbi Hirsch comments on verse 65 that when something is good, it is in complete accordance with its purpose, with its role in God’s plan for mankind. I was reading a few days ago about the first time the Lord God declared something was “not good”, “lo tov” in the Hebrew. Do you remember when that was? It was in Genesis 2:18, when God declared that it was “lo tov” that man should be alone. God went on to see that He would create a “ezer kenegdo” for the man. This Hebrew term means so much more than “helper” or “helpmeet” to use the old KJV word. It does not mean “nice, but optional”.
The word “Ezer” means “help”, a type of indispensable help that is required in times of extreme need. It’s not an optional kind of help, or a weak type of help. The connotation is of Adam receiving the strength, support and provision he needs and which God supplies.
Then, kenegdo is a Hebrew word that means “matching”, "corresponding to," "facing," or "standing opposite." The image is not of someone trailing behind Adam like a second thought, nor someone beneath him carrying out his orders. The picture is of someone standing face-to-face with him, although in a matching way, not in an adversarial way. Someone who corresponds to him. Someone who supplies what is lacking. We were created to live in relationship with one another.
Allright, moving on. Verse 66 reminds us of the importance of being able to think critically, use sound judgment and defend our faith. While we believe the Word of God, there are those skeptics who most certainly do not. When we are engaged by them, we should be able to give a defense for the hope that lies within us. This is a rough quote 1 Peter 3:15.
Verse 67 highlights the importance of learning from our mistakes, as opposed to getting so bogged down emotionally in the re-living of them that we just abandon the good and give up.
The longing to learn God’s statutes crops up again in verse 68. Remember that the word for “statute” is “khohk”, which literally means “a precise ration of food”. It can be puzzling to contemplate why this word has been used to convey the meaning of statute. The Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz of Mir used the analogy of food and its taste to explain. Taste really adds no nutritional value to food. However, God gave our food taste so that we would desire to eat it. Otherwise, we could possibly avoid eating it and endanger our health. The taste is an incentive. The same can be said of mitzvot. Each one is food for the soul, providing spiritual energy to keep our spirit healthy and close to God. Things like physical, psychological or social benefits that accrue from keeping the commandments are like the taste of food. These benefits do not constitute the essence of the mitzvah, but entice us to “eat” them. A khohk, a statute, is a commandment “entirely devoid of flavor”.
The commentators say that verse 69 alludes to hateful naysayers accusing David of having no genuine piety, speaking falsehoods against him in that regard. In his defense, he exclaimed that he cherished Hashem’s precepts with all his heart. How many of us can make that claim? I feel Iike I love His ways so imperfectly…”all” is a big word, in this context.
Verse 70 is quite interesting. It is contrasting the willful sinners of verse 69 with the righteous seekers of God’s sanctification. Here is the translation of that verse from the ArtScroll commentary I use.
“Their heart grew thick as fat, but for me, YourTorah is my preoccupation.” Now, wouldn’t you think that having a “big, fat heart” would be a good thing? After all, remember the Grinch? His heart grew three sizes that day, lol. Perhaps not the best analogy for a Messianic teacher, right? I hope you’ll realize I’m being funny. But, seriously, no. The word “tahFAHSH”, which is translated “thick as fat” is also found in Isaiah 6:10, where we read,
10 “Make the heart of this people [sluggish with] fat,
stop up their ears, and shut their eyes.
Otherwise, seeing with their eyes,
and hearing with their ears,
then understanding with their hearts,
they might repent and be healed!”
As you can see, both these passages describe a heart that is ruled by carnal passions and pleasures of the flesh that smother the senses, making the person uncomprehending of the truth of God. The word “tahFAHSH” shares the same consonants with the word “nahVAHL”, which means “fool”. This adds the dimension of a dull mind which is insensitive to godly values and ethics.
So, just as we want a lean, healthy heart in the physical sense, we want a lean and healthy heart in the spiritual sense, a heart that is preoccupied with living out Torah.
Verse 71 goes along with the theme of seeking righteousness, but none of us particularly likes it! Here, the psalmist professes that the foul-tasting medicine was good for him! Apparently, this is how most of us learn best, through agonizing affliction. We can’t take the easy route….no…. As I look back over my life, I can think of blind spots I had. Truly, it took severe affliction to expose some of them. Sad, but that’s the way it was. And, this was all while I was seeking God with my whole heart. It was not during some kind of wayward period. God also afflicts us to keep us ON the right path, not just to bring us back to the right path. So, you know, it’s like that little saying that God sends the rain upon both the just and the unjust. That’s based off of Matthew 5:45, by the way. Therefore, it’s more than just a little saying. That’s the word of the Savior Himself.
In verse 72 King David wrote to all succeeding generations that he preferred the Word of God (the Torah of God’s mouth) above thousands in gold and silver. And, to prove that he was not “just saying that” to be cute, look at 1 Chronicles 22:14, if you want to turn there. Otherwise, I’ll just read it to you. David is at that point near the end of his life, and he is talking with his successor, Solomon, who will get to build the first Temple. David said, “Behold, by afflicting myself I prepared for the construction of the House of God one hundred thousand talents of gold and one million talents of silver.” While most monarchs amass treasures that they spend on themselves and their own glory, David gathered fortunes to glorify God and teach others God’s ways.
It was a requirement and privilege that each Jewish king write himself a special copy of the Torah. He was to carry it with him at all times so that he could study it as often as possible. Deuteronomy 17:18-20 is where you’ll find these commandments for the king.
18 “When he has come to occupy the throne of his kingdom, he is to write a copy of this Torah for himself in a scroll, from the one the cohanim and L’vi’im use. 19 It is to remain with him, and he is to read in it every day, as long as he lives; so that he will learn to fear Adonai his God and keep all the words of this Torah and these laws and obey them; 20 so that he will not think he is better than his kinsmen; and so that he will not turn aside either to the right or to the left from the mitzvah. In this way he will prolong his own reign and that of his children in Isra’el.
Unfortunately, not all the kings of Israel or Judah followed David’s excellent example in this. Had they done so, there would not have been so many wicked ones on the thrones of these two kingdoms.
I don’t know about you. But, I really believe we are going to be held accountable to God for how we spent the resources He gave us in this life.
Our local congregation is smack dab in the middle of the fastest growing part of our county. And, our county is either the fastest-growing county in our state or the 2nd fastest-growing. When we started construction on our building 3 years ago, we built all we could afford. We were a little congregation of less than 200 people, and none of us were extremely wealthy, by any means. Now, after having been in that building for two years, we are in multiple services each weekend, and are, as we say in my part of the country, “bustin’ at the seams”. So, this past weekend, as part of our regular service, we committed to how much we would give to each month over the next two years, to expand our facilities. The campaign is called, “Make Room”. I’ve been thinking about what my husband and I committed to give. It’s not going to be easy. We pledged an ambitious amount. Why? Because we believe that we are called to reach the many people in our 5-mile radius with the message of the good news of Yeshua HaMashiach. If not us, who? If not now, when? May the Lord God help us to steward our resources, financial and otherwise, with spiritual discernment.
Let’s read this entire section now, the Tayt section. Here we go, from the CJB - -
Tet)
65 You have treated your servant well,
Adonai, in keeping with your word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
because I trust in your mitzvot.
67 Before I was humbled, I used to go astray;
but now I observe your word.
68 You are good, and you do good;
teach me your laws.
69 The arrogant are slandering me,
but I will wholeheartedly keep your precepts.
70 Their hearts are as thick as fat,
but I take delight in your Torah.
71 It is for my good that I have been humbled;
it was so that I would learn your laws.
72 The Torah you have spoken means more to me
than a fortune in gold and silver.
Well, kiddos, we are now about to embark upon the section that is represented by the letter, yod. Like the hay and the vav which we have already studied, the yod is one of the letters in the most personal, relational name of God, yod-hay-vav-hay, the Tetragrammaton, commonly translated “Yahweh”, and often pronounced Hashem out of respect. So, like hay and vav, yod is considered a more sacred letter than most. It is also the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, corresponding to the “jot” (from the Greek word, iota) that is mentioned in Matthew 5:17-18, a very famous passage that is often misinterpreted, I might add. Yod is the 10th letter of the alphabet, with a numerical value of 10. The yod is smaller than the other letters and looks a bit like an apostrophe that sits about where the English apostrophe sits in relation to other English letters. Just FYI, the other “small” term Yeshua mentioned is the tittle, which refers to parts of letters that differentiate them from each other. One example of this is the placement of the dagesh in the letters shin or sin. Another example is the “hinge” extension on the latter dalet, that differentiates it from the letter raysh, which does not have a “hinge”. The sages who wrote the Talmud, codifying the Oral Law, say that the meaning behind the letter yod - - grab your title chart! - - is inheritance.
The yod section of Psalm 119 is the eight verses from verse 73 through verse 80.
Verse 73 is lovely, reminding me of something the psalmist wrote elsewhere in Psalm 139:13. “You fashioned me in my mother’s womb”, or in another translation, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb. This verse, along with verses 73 of Psalm 119 testify to the fact that each of us is uniquely created by Hashem, with our individual set of attributes, for His glory and purposes. We have a long way to go in understanding the miracle of human conception. However, in recent years much has been learned about the joining of the human ovum and sperm.
For instance,
It used to be believed that the fastest-swimming sperm would be the one to get the prize egg, so to speak. That is no longer realized to be true. Instead of playing a passive role, eggs play an active role in choosing the sperm they want. Isn’t that amazing?
As the sperm approach, the egg sends out chemical attractants to cause the most genetically favorable sperm to speed up and the others to slow down!
Then, after the chosen sperm is admitted, the outer layer of the ovum, the egg, immediately changes its chemistry so that no other sperm can enter.
I just think all of this is utterly amazing. “Your hands made and prepared me.” None of us is a biological “accident”. Hallelujah.
When we submit to God and live according to how He made us and His plans for us, others who revere Him will see us and rejoice! The Midrash Shocher Tov, which I mention frequently here tells it like this. “I am the vessel, and You are the craftsman. When a beautiful object is made, who glories in it? Certainly the Maker does! May He make us beautiful in our souls so that others may praise Him, the Creator. The analogy the MST uses is that of storing wine in a wine cask. First, the cask is lined with a waterproof material; in the old days this was “pitch”. After the cask was lined, THEN the wine was poured into it. Pitch or a similar material refers to understanding and the wine to learning. Learning that is not protected by understanding will eventually leak out, deteriorate or get lost.
Verse 75 is reminiscent of psalm 19:10 “Your judgments are true, and righteous altogether”. The mitzvot of the Torah “hang together” as one, cohesive structure. There are no inconsistencies between the statutes, laws, commandments, precepts.
The sages comment that verse 77 refers to the burdens of leadership. They say that the exercise of leadership shortens a person’s lifespan, because it is often so draining and burdensome. Here, in this verse, the interpretation is that David was asking to be spared the fate of an early death, due to the toll that relentless leadership took on his body. He sought to counteract these deleterious effects by refreshing Himself with Torah study.
Verse 78 = = I don’t know if you have ever been lied about, seriously lied about, but I imagine it would be a horrendous situation. I think the worst would be to not be believed by those who are closest to you and love you the most. I’m thinking of people who, by virtue of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, get accused of some awful crime. Back in 2002, my husband’s niece was in college, living with two other young women in a rented house, near the college campus. One weekend, his niece and one of the other roommates went home for the weekend. The 3rd roommate wanted to stay there and study. She ended up being violently attacked in the home and murdered. The murderer then set the house on fire, in an effort to destroy evidence. The case was not solved for nearly 25 years. All during that time, the prime suspect was her boyfriend, although he had an alibi establishing his location many miles away from her, across the state, at the time of the murder. For nearly 25 years, he would periodically be called into the police preceding as, over the years, the cold case would be reviewed by new police detectives. Even his closest friends wondered if he was truly innocent. In the end, the actual murderer was caught, due to recent advances in DNA technology and also due to the fact that he is a career criminal. But, in watching a documentary about this horrible case, the boyfriend expressed his anguish over the years of, not only losing the woman he loved in a very violent manner, but then of being accused of her murder repeatedly! He was “maligned with lies”, as this verse says. God bless him! Maybe now he can finally have some peace….
Verse 79 has a curious interpretation. The sages say that because in another verse David requests that God “purge him with hyssop”, this means that David was afflicted with leprosy after his sin with Bathsheba, so that he could be purged from the last vestiges of his adultery with her. The Talmud reports that this period of severe sickness lasted for six months, during which time the other sages, the members of the Sanhedrin, spurned David, according to the dictates of the Law of Moses. In verse 79, he was expressing his longing to be healed and restored to the good graces of his fellow Torah sages, “those who fear God.”
Torah scholars do not study in isolation. They study with study partners, with a minyan, or with a larger group, depending on the circumstances. David missed this cameraderie.
And, finally, in verse 80, it is prudent for each of us who claim the name of God’s children, to not “take His name in vain.” That is, may we be delivered from evil choices, which would bring disgrace upon the name of our God.
Let’s read the yod section of verses now.
×™ (Yud)
73 Your hands made and formed me;
give me understanding, so I can learn your mitzvot.
74 Those who fear you rejoice at the sight of me,
because I put my hope in your word.
75 I know, Adonai, that your rulings are righteous,
that even when you humble me you are faithful.
76 Let your grace comfort me,
in keeping with your promise to your servant.
77 Show me pity, and I will live,
for your Torah is my delight.
78 Let the proud be ashamed, because they wrong me with lies;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me,
along with those who know your instruction.
80 Let my heart be pure in your laws,
so that I won’t be put to shame.
Our final section for today is under the heading of the 11th letter, the letter khaf. The word, khaf, literally means “the palm of the hand”. The shape of the khaf resembles a cupped palm, or a flexed bicep, which brings to mind images of the strong arm of the Lord. The sages say that this section of 8 verses, 81-88, express David’s desire to be sheltered in the palm of God’s hand. The sages say that the khaf stands for k’TEHR, which is Hebrew for “crown.” The person who places himself in God’s hands, through the agency of His Son, Yeshua, will be eventually crowned with divine glory. Now, before we dive in, the numerical value assigned to this 11th letter is NOT 11. It is instead 20. However, when a Kaf appears at the end of a word, it is shaped differently, called a Kaf sofit, and given the numerical value of 500. Yes, Hebrew is interesting!
Kaf/Khaf is one of Hebrew’s six beged kefet letters. These are letters which have two different pronunciations, depending on whether or not the letter has a little period-looking thing (called dagesh) inside the letter. In the case of Kaf/khaf, without the dagesh, the letter is pronounced with a hard “k” - - kahf. Without the dagesh, the letter is pronounced with a fricative sound, khaf. Other beged kefet letters we have studied in our study of Psalm 119 are: bet, dalet, and gimel. There are two more we will study: peh and tav.
If you are somewhat “lost” right now, as we have been studying psalm 119, we’ve been exploring the Hebrew alphabet letters that “head” each successive section of 8 verses. I won’t go back and go over at this point the ones we’ve already looked at. But, if you want to go back to my first video on Psalm 119 about 3 weeks ago, and review this, start your own chart of the letters, you can find those on my YouTube channel, the Messianic LAMB TV playlist. They are there in order from “most recent” and on down the line.
Ok, so we don’t have a lot of time. Let me try to “hit the high points” of this section. But, first, let’s read it. Verses 81-88.
×› (Kaf)
81 I am dying to know your salvation;
my hope is in your word.
82 My eyes fail from watching for your promise;
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
83 For I have shriveled like a wineskin in a smoky room;
still, I don’t forget your laws.
84 How long can your servant stay alive?
When will you bring judgment on my persecutors?
85 The arrogant have dug pits for me to fall in;
this is not in keeping with your Torah!
86 All your mitzvot [show your] faithfulness;
they are hounding me with lies; help me!
87 They have nearly ended my life on earth,
but I have not abandoned your precepts.
88 In keeping with your grace, revive me;
and I will observe your spoken instructions.
Do you see in these verses how the psalmist is asking Hashem to preserve his life by holding him in His protective palm?
Verses 81 and 82 speak of the Lord’s salvation of His people and how the psalmist is wearing out his eyes, looking for the promised Mashiach. The Hebrew word “kah-LOO” literally means “they are worn out”. They are worn out, my eyes, looking for your promise.
The pursuit of David by his evil enemies seems endless to him. He even wonders, in verse 84 if he will live long enough to see justice against his enemies. The rabbi Vidal HaTzorfati was of the opinion that David’s most virulent enemies were some audacious hypocrites who, while self-righteously claiming they had the purest of motives who were championing and defending the faith, in reality these men were frauds. The oral tradition goes on to add this detail. It is said that some of his enemies publicly humiliated David in a hateful fashion, a practice the Torah vehemently condemns. David is presenting himself as a Job-like character who, although his enemies nearly destroyed him, still he did not forsake Hashem’s precepts. I’m reminded of Job’s proclamation: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15).
This section ends verse 88, in which David is remembering the many times previously that God had rescued and saved him from peril and even death. Because of God’s kindness in so doing, David boldly asked God to “do it again”. That’s the thing about God’s faithfulness and kindness. We can all look back on times when we should not have survived a situation, yet God brought us through it. There’s a movie about to come out, in connection with the nation’s 250th birthday. It’s about the life of the young George Washington. In one scene, the soldier, Washington, appears before his commander. The higher officer says, “your uniform is full of bullet holes”. How did you survive?” Washington, looking a bit dazed, replied, “I don’t know.” We serve a miracle-working God. Therefore, we should not hesitate to ask our loving Father for good things. “It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”. That’s a quote of Yeshua, from Luke 12:32.
Well, our amazing God has given us a country in which, among other freedoms, we are privileged to worship Him freely. As we approach our nation’s 250th birthday, if you are watching this video in real time, I wish you a safe and meaningful holiday weekend. I look forward to seeing you back here next week on Mishkan Katan. Shalom!
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